Tapping Pattern

[Groves]

Here's what I know (I'm on buckets)

I need to tap a few inches to one side or the other, and several inches, maybe a foot above or below last year's taps.

I know that different sides of the tree will run differently (earlier, later, more, less, etc). This will also depend on the year (the weather).

SO, it looks like I can

1. RANDOMIZE my tapping sides. This evens out my year to year sap volume (because some will run more and some less depending on the side and the weather that year), BUT requires that I keep track on a per tree basis about where the taphole was so I can continue the pattern.

or

2. FIX my tapping side for the whole "bush" (25 trees, ha) which would eliminate my need to keep track on a per tree basis.

I have a question about #2. Wouldn't it also get me in and out of the woods faster? I mean it would give me more sap while they're flowing and then when they stopped they'd all more or less stop at the same time. Unless I have problems processing all of my sap and NEED it spread out over a longer time period, it's an upside, right?

[peckfarm]

Though some may disagree with the logic, I have made the following rule:
on an even or 0 year the we tap south or north, on an odd numbered year we tap east or west. It is easy to remember because 9 and 3 are odd and are east west on the face of a clock. Of course all of this is assuming the tree is healthy around the circumference. There are times when only 3/4 of the tree is alive, so you tap what you can. As far as the woods speed of things, well we're talking about a tree dripping sap one drop at a time, nothing should be fast about it. Furthermore, all the trees will bud about the same time and therefore make the syrup real "woody" or bitter before all the holes dry up. Getting out of the woods usually takes place at that time, not when they all dry up.

[Groves]

I thought that often the holes dried up from the bacterial activity if there is a long season. this is why some people ream holes in late season, yes?

I don't see a downside of all my sap coming at once, but then again, I'm not tapping 3,000 trees. I'm sure my perspective then might be a little bit more friendly to "spreading things out".

[DrTimPerkins]

Better to spread them all around. Let's say you tap all on the north side, and the beginning of the season is cold (sap would flow only on the south a little, but not on the north), then it gets really warm and doesn't get cold again. You'd get very little sap flow. Conversely, maybe you tap only the south, and it gets hot and stays hot and your southern tapholes dry out quickly, then you get some nice freeze-thaw periods, but you don't have any tapholes on the north side where the sap might still flow. If you had tapholes all around, some would flow at some times under either of these scenarios and you'd at least get some reasonable amount of sap. Essentially tapping on all different sides of trees ensures that at least some tapholes will experience reasonably good conditions at some point.

You need to pay a bit more attention to tapping this way, by looking at the trunk for evidence of old tapholes. But as long as you stay away from the old tapholes you can see, and aren't overtapping, you should be fine.

[DrTimPerkins]

I thought that often the holes dried up from the bacterial activity if there is a long season. this is why some people ream holes in late season, yes?

Although a very few people will occasionally report good results, in general, reaming has not been shown to be an effective strategy for getting tapholes that have "dried up" (due to microbial activity) to produce much more sap. You'll get a short burst of sap (looks good while you're standing there), but it'll stop very quickly. This may be OK for somebody with a handful to a few hundred taps, but primarily it just makes you feel better. Beyond that, vacuum is far more effective.

[Thad Blaisdell]

I reamed about 1500 last year, WOW did the sap run out of those taps. It didnt run at all until you put the tap back in and the vacuum hit it, then it just went crazy...